Police say Mississippi shooting suspect is dead

CLEVELAND, Miss. — Authorities say the suspect in the fatal shooting of his domestic partner and a university professor in Mississippi is dead.

Delta State University police chief Lynn Buford told The Associated Press late Monday that Greenville police were following 45-year-old Shannon Lamb when Lamb pulled over, jumped out of his car, and ran.

Buford says police heard one gunshot and found Lamb with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. They took Lamb to the hospital in Greenville where Buford says he was pronounced dead.

Police say Lamb fatally shot the woman he lived with on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and also fatally shot 39-year-old history professor Ethan Schmidt on the Delta State University campus in Cleveland, Mississippi, on Monday. The woman was identified as 41-year-old Amy Prentiss.

The former husband of Prentiss says she was a “good person” and that their daughter is devastated by her death.

Shawn O’Steen said Monday that he was married to Amy Prentiss for about seven years.

O’Steen said he and Prentiss divorced 15 years ago, but remained friends.

He said the two have a daughter who is 19.

He said his daughter was “devastated” and that she and her mother were “absolutely best friends.”

A Delta State University professor said campus police did a good job of quickly notifying faculty, staff and students about the campus shooting.

English professor Bill Hayes said he respects police but was frustrated about the amount of information he received after the initial alert as officers sought a suspected gunman.

Delta State University President Bill LaForge said within 10 minutes of a shooting being reported to campus police, the university sent a campuswide alert. He said it was sent Monday morning to students, staff and faculty members by text message and messages on Twitter and Facebook. The campus was locked down much of the day.

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